Vehicle top



Oct. 5,1926. 1 1,602,017

' J. T. HAMILTON VEHICLE TOP Filed April 22. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F16.& 5

\ mvmmn I TELF'ORD HAMILTON,

7 ATTORNEYS.

'Oct. 5 1926. 1,602,017

J. T. HAMILTON VEHICLE TOP Filed April 22, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. lTE LFOR D HAMILTON 1 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 5, 1926. 1

UNITED STATES y me PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES TELFORD HAMILTON, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO PACIFIC NATIONAL CO., INC., OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALI- FORNIA.

VEHICLE TOP.

Application filed April 22, 1925, Serial No. 24,967.

My invention is a vehicle top for trucks or the like preferably made of canvas and secured to bows which are mounted on small carriers running on rails, sothat the whole canopy or top may be slid to one end of the truck by carriers running on the rails. My invention as described herein is an improvement on my application Serial No. 9,131 (series of 1925) for a vehicle top, filed Feb. 14,1925. r g

My invention oomprehends placing the rail and roller carrier for the bows in a high position contiguous to the top of the cover or canopy. The bows are carried across the top and secured directly into a yoke wh ch has a stem connected to the roller'carrier. The side-curtains are mounted on a rail in order to be slidable lengthwise of the truck independent of the top.

I form the rail for carrying the roller carriers in sections in such amanner that preferably one section can be taken out of one side of the vehicle for loading through the side, similar to loading through a door or gateway in the side of the truck, and I preferably have the other side with the rail three quarters removable. I/Vith either of 7 these arrangements the cover may-be slid forward and folded to allow loading the trucks by crane or, if desired, only the section of one side need be: removed in the center to allow loading through the side without removing the top. 1 V

In order to make a cover which may be F adapted to differe'nt'lengths of trucks 'I make the one or more of the bows split, that is in two sections, so that the canvas of the cover may be drawn down through the bow and clamped, the surplus material being out off underneath the bow if desired. In this manner the stretching of the canvas may also,

rier in the direction of the arrow t of F ig- V ure 0.

Figure 5 is a plan of the roller carrier in the direction of the arrow 5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a plan of the yoke or bracket for holding the bows in the direction of the arrow 6 of Figure 7.

Figure 7 is an end view of Figure 6 as seen from the outer end, in the direction of the arrow 7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of one the split bows showing the yoke or bracket at one end in side elevation andat the other end in longitudinal section, and illustrating the manner of clamping the canvas between the split bows. v

Figure 9 is a plan of the split bows of Figure 8 in the direction of the arrow 9.

Referring to the drawings and Figures 1 and 2 in particular, a truck-body is indicated generally by the numeral 1 and comprises a platform 2, with under-framing 3 and is shown with slat-sides 4:, carried byv a series of posts. Some of these posts, indicated by 5, are fiXedposts and the removable posts are indicated by 6. The posts are held in metal, sockets 7'and 8, secured to the platform edge or to the lower framing 3 and are made in a double type 7 for two adjacent posts, and with the single type 8 for single posts. The slats 4 are secured to the posts in any suitable manner. H I

g A sufficient number of metal rods 9 are secured to the posts5 and 6 to support the longitudinal rail 10, one at each side of the track. It is preferable to .make this rail in sections and one side, as shown in Figure 1, has two fixed sections 11 and-12, and a removable section 18. "These sections abutt' close together as indicated at 14, so as to allow the carriers to move thereover. It is preferable to make the other side of the truck with .afixed section of rail at the forward end of the truck and a removable section 15 extending substantially the length of the truck, measured from the back.

The rails are preferably made of T-shaped iron so-as to provide an upper track 16 and a lower trackl'T, the web 18 bei'n bolted or otherwise secured to the upper end 19 of the rods 9. The rails are not deformed at the ends but are'constr'uotedto permit the cover to be completely removed-at either end if desired. However, as the forward end would usually be fixed, it could be permanently secured if desired to part of the truck-body structure.

The carriers for the top are indicated particularly in Figures 3, 4 and 5 and are preferably made from a stamped sheetmetal frame. This comprises a sheet-metal web 20 bent at its lower end to form a trough 21 with an upwardly extending flange 22 on the inner side. The upper portion of the web is pressed out to form a small semicircle 23, which with an oppositely bent out section 24, of the upper flange 25, forms a socket 26 to hold the bow yokes or brackets. The flange 25 has a downwardly extending skirt 26 and the upper stem 27 of the flange is bolted or riveted to the upper part of the web 20, as indicated at 28. A pair of rollers 29 are carried between the Web 20 and the flange 22 on journals 30, suitably riveted or otherwise secured. An upper pair of rolls 31 are carried between the upper part of the web 20 and the skirt 26, being secured by journals 32. The journals or axles of the rolls may be of any suitable mechanical construction and the rolls could have either plain, roller or ball-bearings.

As is Y manifest, each roller carrier. is mounted on the T-rails with the upper rolls 31 engaging the upper track 16, and the lower rolls 29 engaging the lower track 17, and with the socket 26 extending upwardly.

The yoke or bracket for the bows is shown particularly in Figures 6 and 7 and assembled with the bows in Figures 8 and 9. These'yokes 33 are preferably made of a cast channel iron 34 having a web 35 and flanges 36. A stud 37 projects downwardly from the outer end of the yoke and is designed to engage in the socket 26 of the roller carriers. A hole 38 in the stud is designed to register through apertures 39 in the sides of the socket 26, so that the yokes 33 may be connected to the roller carriers by a removable pin, bolt or other fastening. Jobs 35 are provided with holes 40, which may be two or more in number, through which bolts 41 are passed to engage the bows and hold them in position.

A split bow formed in two parallel sections, is shown in Figures 8 and 9, and as above explained is designed principally to adjust the length of the canvas cover according to the length of the truck, and to take up stretching of the canvas. The plain bows are indicated by the numeral 42 and the split bows by 43. Both are preferably made of wood. The split bow is formed in two parts, 44 and 45, which may be both alike or may be shaped to fit or interlock at their meeting edge. The surplus canvas for a cover is drawn down between the bow-strips 44 and 45, as indicated by the edge 46, whichmay be trimmed off. The strips are secured together by a series of bolts 47 and thereby clamp the canvas. In this manner the canvas cover 48 may be fitted tight and it is not necessary for the manufacturer to make the cover the exact fit for each truck, but these small adjustments can'be made by the truck owner.

The main top 48 of the cover preferably has attached at each edge a short hanging flap 49 extending from end to end and designed to cover in the roller carriers and the tracks. a canvas closure 50 at the forward end and 51 at the back end, either or both of these being designed to roll snugly against the upper bows. A simple manner of shaping the canvas is to form the cover top, the flaps 49 and the ends 50 and 51 of permanently connected material so that if desired, it may all be removed by disconnecting the straps 52 from underneath the plain bows 42 and disconnecting the canvas from the split-bows 43. The line 53 indicates a lapover of the flaps 49 and they may be secured by eyelets 54 in the neighborhood the split bow carrier.

The side-curtains 55 are shown particular- The ends of the cover may have.

ly in Figures 1 and 2, 'andare preferably made in one curtain of sufficient length to cover a side of the truck. The curtains are shown carried by a T-iron 56 welded or otherwise secured by its web 57 to the rods 9. The upper and lowerflanges 58 and 59 of the T engage the open rings 60 of the curtain. It is manifest that the T-iron 56 for the curtains must have breaks so that a section can be removed when the removable sections 13 and 15 of the rails are taken out. The fixed sections are indicated by the numeral 61 and the short side-removable sec'-- tion by 62 and the three-quarter removable section on the other side of the truck by 63.

The manner of operating my cover is be lieved obvious. However, as the forward end .of the cover may be permanently connected to the rails by having a carrier 64,

welded or riveted thereto instead of the roll- 7 er type 65. A-pin 66 is designed to engage any one of a series of holes 67 in the rails to hold the rearward roller carriers with the cover stretched tight. On the side having the doorway, as shown in Figure 1, it is desirable to space the roller carriers so that they will be forward and back of the break 14 in the rails and in-the curtain irons, so that the doorway section can be removed without requiring'the rolling up of the top. However, when the three-quarter section of the other side is removed it will be necessary to roll the top towards the front of the truck.

It is obvious that my invention may be considerably changed to suit special require ments, different types of trucks etc., and to cover difierent commodities without departing from the spirt thereof.

Having described my invention what I claim is 1. In a folding Vehicle top a plurality of posts rising from each side of the Vehicle, the posts being bent outwardly to terminate in horizontal tops and being indented to present goose necks below the tops, and vertical rails secured to the upper ends of the posts allowing carriages to ride thereon, the rails being arranged to partly close the goose necks and to define a space therewith adapted to allow a sliding curtain support to be accommodated therein.

2. In a folding vehicle top, a plurality of posts rising from each side of the Vehicle, the posts being bent outwardly to terminate in horizontal tops and being indented to present goose necks below the tops, and vertical rails secured to the upper ends of the posts having carriages riding thereon, the rails and'carriages being arranged to partly close the goose necks and to define a space therewith adapted to allow a sliding curtain support to be accommodated therein.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature.

J. TELFORD HAMILTON. 

